artlung.

On Prog Rock

Inspired by the little article “The Whitest Music Ever (Prog rock was audacious, innovative—and awful)” I wrote this:

Datapoints: King Crimson can be furiously awesome. I saw them on the Thrak tour (I can’t remember if that was at the Wiltern) and I totally get it. Robert Fripp is terrific when tempered by other artists – notably Eno in “No Pussyfooting” which is aggro ambient and the mentioned-in-the-article Bowie. Rush I still don’t get but I’m glad they’ve had pop success. Listening to more Rush has been on my to-do list for 30 years and I’ve still not gotten to it. Oh! The moment in the film “Children of Men” where Theo goes into the Ark of the Arts in London and they play “The Court of the Crimson King” – easily in the top 5 uses of a pop song in film. I wept. Jethro Tull I still have nothing good to say about. I’ve tried to listen but it only inspires rage. Also, I saw a big Dream Theater bumper sticker on a perfectly cared for Lamborghini and I cackled like a madman. Who puts a bumper sticker on such a car. And who puts a PROG ROCK bumper sticker on such a car?!?? Sister, there’s a story there. I don’t begrudge anyone their music man, every genre has its place in somebody’s heart. Oh, and I’ve tried listening to Can. I feel lost every time.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.